Ayr Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) encourage the reporting of drug activity within the community. Community members are often reluctant to report these offences due to being uncertain if the suspicious activity is actually related to an unlawful act, the fear their identity will not remain confidential or the sometimes-incorrect belief police are already aware of these persons and their unlawful activities. Community members often assume that others are providing this same information to police, however this is often times not the case. Investigators will always conduct further investigations and inquiries regarding information received from the public to verify the accuracy of the information supplied prior to taking any action, particularly in relation to the application of search warrants.
Members of the community can personally attend or call a police station to report their suspicions or if they wish to remain anonymous, are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an online report and are not required to provide their personal details when doing so.
Measures are taken by Crime Stoppers to ensure a person’s identity remains confidential. These measures include no phone number being shown on the Crime Stoppers call centre telephones, calls not being recorded and if submitting an online report - Crime Stoppers does not record ones IP address, details of the computer being used or the reporter’s location. The focus of Crime Stoppers is not on who you are but what you know.
Under section 119 of the Drugs Misuse Act 1986, police are prohibited from disclosing the name of a drug informant or any other particular that may be likely to lead to the informer’s identification. When executing a search warrant on a person to search their dwelling for drugs, a copy of the search warrant is provided to the occupier however the application for the search warrant which contains the grounds (information) required to have the warrant granted by a Justice of the Peace or Magistrate is not provided to the occupier.
Detective Sergeant Lisa Shields
Officer in Charge │ Ayr Criminal Investigation Branch